The present invention generally relates to the field of electronic computer systems. The invention includes a set of systems and methods that improve the means by which its users can define and participate in communities and by which users can manage their individual information and communication as well as that of their communities.
A community is a group based on some combination of location, interest, similarity, or identification with the group. Generally, every person belongs to a variety of communities and participates in them in a variety of capacities and/or ways. Fundamental to both the individual and the community is communication and information. There is therefore a need for a system that supports its users in defining and participating in their communities and managing their individual and community information and communication.
The various sorts of communities that exist can be broken down (at least roughly) into four types: (1) communities defined primarily by geography or geopolitical boundaries; (2) communities defined primarily by some combination of interest, similarity, or identity shared by its members; (3) online communities created by users linking to other users who they designate as friends; and (4) online communities that are pre-defined for users based on real-world communities. Each of these types of communities is described further below.
Communities of type (1) are defined primarily by geographical or geopolitical location or area. For example, a person—just by virtue of where she lives, works, etc.—is typically part of a neighborhood, city or town, county, state, and/or country, as well as the global community. Much of a person's life might (and typically does) involve things that are local. But, even if a person has a sense of what he generally considers his local community, what is appropriately “local” for him might vary, even frequently and significantly, depending on his circumstances and what he desires to accomplish at any given time. For example, a person might want to locate a product or service that is available within a certain distance (or driving time or driving distance, for example) of her home. Or, she might want to find the closest such product or service to her office. Someone might want to find a job that is very close to home or may be willing to commute quite some distance. An individual might want to move locally and stay within a tightly-specified area, or she might be interested in moving quite some distance. She might want to move to a locale that is far away from where she currently lives. In each case, what the individual considers the appropriate “local” area can vary significantly and/or frequently according to, for example, his current circumstances and/or purposes. The area could be nearby or far away; it could be a very small area up to the whole world. There is a need therefore for a system with which the user can define for himself a geographically-based community and then participate in the community through the use of a system that provides commerce, communication, information, etc. for that community. In today's information-based world, this system can be computerized.
Communities of type (2) are defined primarily by some combination of interest, similarity, and/or identity. Geography may be a factor in defining communities of this type, but is secondary to the other factors. Examples of communities of type (2) in which geography plays a role in defining the community include companies, schools or school-related organizations, teams, clubs, people participating in an event, families or groups of friends, local business organizations, etc. Examples of communities of type (2) in which geography plays no role or a very limited role in defining the community include groups based on a common interest (for example, in board games, collecting stamps, dog training, etc.), that sharing of one or more characteristics (for example, being tall, being short, being Christian, etc.), or identification with a group (for example, being a fan of a sports team, being an alumnus of a college, etc.). Regardless of the degree to which geography plays a role in this second type of community, it is some combination of other factors (interest, similarity, and/or identity) that is most important in defining the group. Communities of this second type are typically different for each individual since each individual's interests, characteristics, and/or feelings of identity with certain groups tend to be a subjective matter. There is a need for a system and method that allows a person to define for themselves communities of this sort. There are websites that support particular communities, but they are devoted to a particular community that is pre-defined for the user and lacks the flexibility appropriate to this type of community. Thus, there is again a further need to participate in this community through a (computerized) system that is flexible enough to enable the user to conveniently organize personal choice or participation information and to do so in an unique community the user defines.
Communities of type (3) have emerged on websites. These types of communities are created by users of a system which allows them to network with other users. One way such user networks can be established is through interconnection of users who designate one another to be “friends.” In such a case, each user can designate one or more other users of a system to be his or her friends. In this way, a user network emerges from the individual-to-individual connections that are made. Although the connections made in this type of community are fundamentally between one user and another user, there is much group interaction that can occur via the present invention among all or a subset of members of user networks that emerge from such one-to-one interconnections. Accordingly, there is a need in these participation and often computerized-based communities for a system which organizes and facilitates convenient interaction between users. A further need is for these communities to interact with other of the user's communities.
Communities of type (4) are pre-defined for the user on the basis of existing, real-world communities to which the user belongs. Examples of such communities are all or parts of companies, schools, other organizations, etc. If, for example, a user is an employee of a company, she may be allowed to join into various pre-defined online communities for that company. Again, in today's information based world, people typically require an organizational approach which helps them to run the daily, more routine aspects of their lives. A large growing number of people rely on computers sometimes in the form of PDA's, for this organizational framework. In view of limitations inherent in current approaches including an inability to both communicate and integrate with other community types, there is a need for a system that facilitates the organization and integration of our daily routines with other aspects of our lives.
Moreover, there is a need for a system and method by which the user can define for himself exactly what his communities are and participate in them as he chooses. Similarly, there is a need for an ability to communicate, collaborate, share data and information, etc. which is up-to-date at all times and is accessible from anywhere (which presently means via a personal computer, mobile device, etc.).
Of course, communities don't always fall neatly into one of the categories defined here and the ways in which users might use the invention might vary greatly. It should be borne in mind that communities might not fall exactly into any of the categories above, can fall into a combination of those categories, and that it is an aspect of the current invention that it is up to the user to decide how to use the invention as a platform that supports his activities.
Another thing that should be borne in mind about communities in general is a community might be part of one or more larger communities (for example, a school might be part of a larger school system), might include in it all or parts of one or more smaller communities (for example, a company might have various departments, offices, regions, etc.; a school has various classes, clubs, teams, event-planning groups, etc.), and might overlap with other communities in all sorts of different ways.
Therefore, there is a need for a flexible and interactive system that facilitates the integration of our unique and evolving community-based lives. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.